So many people ask if it is cold in Kansas City.  Well.......um........Tuesday was -21*C during the day!!!  So I'm not sure if "cold" would be the word I would use to describe the weather here.  It is strange though, we go from -21*C on Tueday to 16*C on Saturday and predicted 22*C on Tuesday, and then into the minuses again!!!  Who knows?

Our basketball matched last week were really fun.  Nathan and Josh both really had a good time.  Nathan's team won their game and Nathan got the hang of it after being blown for a couple of fouls!!!  He did such a good job of picking up rebounds because of his height!  Oh and we laughed so at Josh.  Those of you who know what he is like when it comes to sport, will appreciate this.  So his team goes on to play and the other team has the ball.  The kid is dribbling down the one side of the court and here comes Josh out of nowhere and wants to tackle him.  I mean, come on guys.......you can't let the kid run with the ball!!!!  And then Josh is chasing the kid with the ball all around the court because no one else is "tackling" him!!!!

So let me explain the concept of Baaasketball for my African friends.  When the other team has the ball, you all run to the Deeeefensive side of the court, mark a man and block them.  Let the kid with the ball run all the way until he is near his scoring net, then our free man tries to block his pass while the others all block their players. Does that make sense??? No tackling!!!!!  It looked like Josh thought he was on the soccer field!!!  His soccer team would have been proud of him, plus he got called for 3 body fouls!!!!!  Just keeping up his reputation for Old Boys!!!!

But they really have improved already for their second match which they played yesterday.  Josh now "gets" the game and played a brilliant defensive game.  He had a few shot at the basket, but his aim still needs a bit of work.  He also got fouled so had to have 2 free throws.  He scored 1.  So very chuffed.  Nathan played really well yesterday too and scored 3 baskets for his team.  They are meeting some really nice friends at basketball, a lot of them are actually involved with the Church and home schooled.  Met a few of their parents and they really are nice people, make us feel very welcome.

On our way home from the basketball game we found Dick's! A very unfortunate name for a store, but it is a sporting goods store.....just like Sportsmans Warehouse, just a bit fancier and more branded stuff. The boys had a shopping spree with the money they got from family for birthday and christmas. They each bought a basketball ball.......of course (even Ben), and then a Baseball Mitt and ball each. In desperation to play "catch" outside with their new stuff, they bundled up and braved the cold for about 10 minutes.

Ben has been a bit sick now, I think the change in climate has affected them all a bit.  he has an URT infection  (that's just fancy for Upper Respiratory Tract)! So he is on antibiotics for the next few day.

My birthday on Friday was really good.  I was worried that it would be "different" but I must say it was really good!  Got very spoilt by my amazing boys (that includes Neil).....got 4th generation iPad, which I am so excited about....I feel very fancy.  Everyone on our course made me feel so special too, and of course best of all was all my wishes from back home in sunny SA.  My heart was really filled when I saw how many people remembered me......ok, I know most of you have FB, fancy phones or birthday calendars to remind you, but for my own benefit I will pretend you all thought of me all on your own.  Those of you who did not send messages, I hope you feel really bad now!!! Feel free to send belated messges!!!

We went out to dinner last night to a Barbeque Place called "Jack Stack".  It was absolutely divine......if you can ignore the price list.  Meat is extremely expensive here, but what a good dinner.  Probably best ribs I have ever eaten, and by far the nicest Creme Brulee you can imagine!!!  Needless to say, the diet I was trying to be on, went out the window.......so I decided diets during your birthday week should be banned.   Me, myself and I voted in favour of that motion, so it was accepted and my diet is on hold until Monday!  Poor Monday, it holds so much responsibility for so many people who start things on ......Monday!!!!

That is a picture of the Global Prayer Room, for those who were curious as to what it looks like.  People come and go as they please, and sing along with the worship if they want, stand and praise, or sit and pray, read bibles, read books, draw, whatever.  It is very relaxed, just a time to get in touch with God in whatever way you choose. 

We had an amazing talk on Tuesday on Forgiveness!  The talk was given by Peter Loth......sho!  I cried so many times listening to this man's story!  He is the youngest living survivor of the Holocaust.  He was born in a Concerntration Camp where he and his mother were experimented on.  They were used as guinea pigs for the Germans.  Other pregnant woman, no mattter how far their pregnancies, were given forced abortions, while awake and conscious, by hand!  The moms were then given their dead, sometimes dismembered foetuses, and left to bleed to death.  If they did not die they were executed the next day!  What a way to start your life!!!!  He and his mom made it out the concerntration camp before being executed, but to keep him safe she left him with a Polish woman where he grew up.  But his whole life he was raped and tortured by various officials in orphanages and institutions because he did not have birth papers, so could not prove his origin!  He was often confiscated from this woman and locked up!  When he was 12 he was lined up with all kids that did not have papers, and one by one a gun was put in their mouths and they were shot.  When it was his turn, the Polish woman who looked after him and loved him, offered herself in his place!!!  The soldiers accepted that, took her home and all took turns raping her.  His story of torture and abuse carry on until he was almost an adult.  And here he is now, a Christian who has forgiven all that happeded to him.  He speaks of that time with tears in his eyes, but he is full of joy, he will not allow the devil to rob him of life and love.  He is going to live the life God gave him to the full!  That session really touched me and spoke to me.  Unforgiveness is a poison that eats away at us, and robs us of joy.  It does no harm to the person you are holding a grudge against, they are probably not even aware of it.  If he can forgive, certainly then so can I!!!!!!

If anyone wants to read his story, his book is called Peace by Piece: Peter Loth

Written by Sandra Kellogg Rath

ISBN 978-1-60647-121-0

On a lighter note, my mom and sister, Karen, are planning to visit in June/July.  I am really looking forward to it.  Will really be fun to have some family around for a while.

Miss you all my special friends.  We are well, having fun and happy!  Please email or message to keep us updated with home news.  You can't tell me there's nothing to report, come on, it's Springs after all!!!!

Lots of Love

Well hello again!  It's been a while, so sorry.  They have us on a tight schedule....I think it might be to keep us on the straight and narrow!!!!

So quite a bit has happened since we last chatted!  I had a very short moment where I thought I was going to meet Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy in case anyone has forgotten!!!!).  I thought that maybe my anxiety about this move was going to be worth it.  Let me give you the backgound.

On Sunday Nathan was really not well, started running a fever and looked like he was getting pretty bad flu.  By 5pm his fever was 104 F which is 40C, so we decided it best to take him to the doctor.  Not knowing the area, we google (because I am not technologically advanced) the nearest medical centre that is open on a Sunday evening and we find St Luke's.  Sounds reasonable so off we go.  After a 30 minute drive we arrive at probably the most organised, efficient ER I have ever seen.  What a breath of fresh air.  Not sure how many of you have had the misfortune of visiting one of our hospitals after hours, but sad to say, it seriously looks like the graveyard shift, in more ways than one, and you are lucky if you find a doctor who speaks English.  Anyway, here we find a full staff from receptionist to cleaners, to security staff etc.  Plus the ER staff are seperate from the hospital staff so you get a ER Nurse or ER Doc etc......just like Grey's!   Wow.  Ok, so the wait was really long, but I must say we were not really an emergency so didn't mind....but think it was probably because I really expected McDreamy to walk in at any minute!!!!  So it was just flu....had a 4th year intern do the consult, and the ER doc confirm.  No Mc Dreamy though, but really thorough and kind. 

Our adventure continues as we spend our day off on Monday looking for a gym!  After deciding that I think I might lose the use of essential parts of my body if I insist on trying to go out for runs in such cold weather, a gym was the next best option. A lady we met (Jennifer) suggests we go see the Community Centre!!!!  You can imagine my reaction (internally of course, did not want to offend her) especially those of you who have had the priviledge of seeing the Springs Community Centre......

Well knock me down and blow me away with a feather!!!!

This is no ordinary community centre.  Indoor heated pools with super tube, full basketball courts, rock climbing wall, weight training, gym equipement, indoor walking or running track, spinning studio, karate, zumba and aerobics.  Needless to say, we joined!!!  Boys are so keen to go, even Ben, who just wants to slide!!!!!

On the way home we make an amazing American discovery......Frozen Yoghurt!  OMW!!!  It is so delicious and healthy.....isn't it?  Never mind that there are about 14 flavours to choose from and over 30 toppings......we had a field day!!  Oh and its all self serve, so you need to be careful about how much you take....pay by weight!!!!

Our courses are going well.  The kids are really enjoying theirs.  Ben loves going to "school".  We spend the morning doing relationship building, so meeting other people, chatting and praying for each other, then go to the prayer room, which is the 24/7 room where there is worship and prayer non-stop.  Our class/session time is in the afternoon.  A lot of what we have done so far is background, explanations of why and how so far.  Spending time understanding who God really is and what he expects from us. It is really hard to explain what we are studying, but as we move along and I understand things better too, it will make it easier to explain.

 

Thursday night Nathan and Josh get invited to basketball practice! They were really excited....so off we go. It is the YMCA youth team, the other boys in their group play and their dad is the coach. They had a ball.

 

 

You won 't believe this.....they play their first game tomorrow (Saturday)!  Neil and I were in stitches in the car on the way home from practice.  They don't know what positions they are playing, or what the positions are called, and they actually don't even know the rules!!!  They got given their team shirt at practice and off we go.  It's going to be fun though.  The American boys are quite enthralled by Nathan...the giant from Africa.  One boy at practice said to Nathan "I'm so glad you're in our team.....you sooooo tall!"  I'll let you know how that goes!

 

So far, so good my friends.  We are embracing this adventure that we have been blessed with and will treasure this time forever....that said, we miss you all!  It's at times like this that I realise how true that saying is about true friends.  We are all so busy organising and living our lives that we often don't spend as much time together as we would like, or don't chat as much as we should, but as a true friend we understand that in each other, accept it and still love each other. 

 

That said, I am extrememly grateful for modern technology.  I don't feel that far away, it's like you are all so busy with life that you just ignoring me a bit!!!!

 

Love you all.

 

It finally feels like we getting there!!!

Sho, the last few days have been really crazy.  Mainly running around trying to sort out the car, but that is finally done.  After being told that Neil is uninsurable....because he reversed into a tree in 2012.........(don't ask me how they found that out.........beware, they are watching you!!!) to eventually finding an insurance company willing to provide the insurance.  A bit different, here you have to pay for your policy upfront, so you choose how long you want to be insured for, then you pay the full amount.  You can choose between 6 months or 12 months.  Very weird for us!!

So yeah, I finally got my BA (big arse) car that I always wanted.  But mind you, this one is actually a LA (Little Arse...for those who are not following), compared to a lot of the cars here.  Am very chuffed with it and enjoy driving it.

Spent most of today driving/playing in my new car.  Had to sort out utilities!!! Central Heating is run by Kansas Gas and Energy, Electricity is run by Kansas Power and Lights and Water is run by Kanses Water Department.  What fun?! 

Oh, this was interesting.....hired a maid service/cleaning service to come in once every two weeks to give the house a really good clean. Wow, do I appreciate Joyce!  South Africans, treat your nannies like gold and be good to them.....the price here for cleaners is crazy!!! It works out to around R300/hour!!!  One of the cleaners was a young white girl.  Neil and I were talking about how strange it is for us to see young white people working in positions that we have come to expect uneducated people to hold.  And they are all so friendly and happy in their jobs.  Check out cashiers at the supermarkets are often young, white men or women.

Had orientation for the boys today.  They were quite excited to hear that in their group are 3 boys from another family in the US that are absolutely sport mad, and they are 13, 11 and 9.  So it works our really well for them.  They start classes informally tomorrow as Neil and I go to our orientation, so they take kids for the day for them to meet each other and get used to their new schedule.  Ben is so excited to start his "school". 

Went out for dinner tonight to Applebee's.  One of America's traditions.  Best burgers we have ever tasted!!!  Ate ourselves sick........of course had to end off with dessert.  What a selection, Americans are not shy with their sweets stuff boy, and it all looks and tastes good!  That 100 I saw on the scale may reach 200 if I am not careful!!!  But anyway, we think we are being conservative by ordering the bite size choc brownie.  It is really a Bite Size......then we see "Shot Glass Desserts"....wow, that sounds good.......this way we can have two and get a taste of them all!!!  so typical South African style, we each order a Shot Glass dessert to go with the Bite size Choc Brownie........OMW!!!!  We forget that everything in USA is bigger and better......a shot glass is actually a whiskey tumbler, overflowing with dessert and cream...................................it was disgusting!!!!  Not the dessert of course, but how much we ate!!!

It has rained here all day today and we are expecting a high tomorrow of 18 degrees.  WooHoo!!!!  A bit like home....but the temperature swings here more than a merry go round, cos on Sat it drops again to -2 and 4 with a chance of snow!!!!  Strange!!!

.  Please leave comments if you want on the blog, it will be good to hear from you.  Keep me updated with what's happening with you back at home.  I am missing you all loads and we love you all!

PS If you don't know how to comment, sorry I can't help, I am still new at this.  My sister says apparently you choose a profile ( select goodle profile) and that seems to work.  Give it a try!!

Again, lots of love to you all.

So some things work better in Africa.....believe it or not.

 Car salesman are not exaggerated in movies.  Oh my goodness.  I nearly burst out laughing in the back of the car when the salesman turned to Neil and said "Tell me what I need to do to earn your business, sir?"   I mean, seriously????  So we move on to another dealership and find something we really like....FORD.....need to stick with the American thing here.  Get back to the office and ask the salesman what we need to bring on Monday to arrange the deal, when he tells us that we first need to pay a license fee!  Ok, I can handle that, same like back home.  But that's not all............. need to pay GST (General Sales Tax for those of us who forgot what that is).......but that's not all .........................  a property tax on any asset purchased by residents in the US, ................but that's  not all..................  a compulsory insurance for vehicles before they are purchased!!!!  So the very reasonable price we were going to pay for our car is no longer so reasonable.....And we need to visit the local DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) to make application before we can buy one!  So here goes our first visit with a government department in US.

It has been sunny the last 2 days but still very cold, although most of the snow has melted now.  Temps range between 0 and -7!!!  Next week should be warmer though, we will be getting up to 9 on some days......Yeah can't wait.

Our house in Kansas City.  I must just say we froze having that picture taken, just popped out from the centrally heated toasty lounge to take it!!!!!  On a very quiet street with no neighbours!!! Well none that we have met yet.  They all very scarce, no big welcome to the neighbourhood here, or apple pies delivered to the new people on the block....hmmm!!!

Mondays are going to be cleaning days......already have the boys on a schedule of cleaning the kitchen....wait til they get their chores to do tomorrow!  A shock to their system I am sure, but they have been really good about it so far, let's see how Day 1 of "The Big House Clean" goes.

Will chat soon.  Lots of Love

I'm not the best writer/author in the world, but I will certainly try to keep you all updated in a way that at least does not put you to sleep!!!!

Let's start with the plane flight.  To Dakar was fine, watched movies and the usual.  But from Dakar to Washington felt like someone had put me in a washing machine.  The plane bumped and swerved all over the place.  The pilot said it is the worst flight he has had in his flying career.  We were pushing through winds of up to 335km/h. I am emabarrased to say the "barf bag" came in handy.  I just got up to go to the "huge" bathroom to empty my stomach, when an announcement, clearly aimed at me!!!, came over the intercom.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, please return to your seats, the seatbelt sign is on and it is unsafe for you to leave your seat at this time!!!"  "Where do they want me to puke?"  Anyway, we made it to Washington safely, glad to be on terra firma, and spent the morning at the National Air and Space Museum.  Of course we had to do the tourist thing first and take a few pics with "Obama".



Flight to Kansas was smooth, thankfully, and we arrived and found our house. Settled in & I unpacked. Not much jet lag yet. But slept really well and snug in a house fit with central heating!!!!  What an amazing concept - what's wrong with us in SA?  We walk around in t-shirts everywhere and when you go outside you just pop a jacket on.  But not the South Africans!!!!  We don snow gear and play outside on our first morning - not a single other person out and about yet, but there we are, like real "tourists" playing in the snow!!

Grocery shopping in Walmart was "fun".  Took me about 5 hours to read all the labels and figure out what is what.  There was no washing powder to be found anywhere......"laundry detergent"!!!  And toilet paper does not exist, much to our dismay!!!!  But a bathroom tissue can be used for that purpose.  And what on earth are 'pork sausages'.......delicacy in SA, enjoy your bangers.....can't get them here!

 

But maybe that is a good thing.....got on the scale in our bathroom!  I never thought I would ever see the day that I weighed over 100!!!!!  Felt quite ill for a moment until I realised "pounds".  Thank goodness!!!  I was ready to do a 40 day fast!!!!!

 

Today is our day for car shopping.  Prices seem really good......A Kia Sorrento 2011 model is about $19000, which is about R160 000.  But oh my goodness what a choice we have.  They have some really big. big "ass" cars here.  Will let you know how that adventure goes.

 

Lots of love to all in sunny South Africa, from an overcast, ready to snow Kansas City.  We love you all and miss you stax.

 

The Kinds